Insulating rail-joint.



B. WOLHAUPTER.

INSULATING RAIL JOINT. APPLICATION FILED $391. 20, 1906.

Patented Ma 25, 1909.

' 2 mans-51mm 1.

WI JHIHI I! W I izejaearg j 5 B. WOLHAUPTBR.

INSULATING RAIL JOINT. I APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20, 1906.

Patented May 25, 1909.

. 2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

I l U joint bars and having interlocking engage nnrrn s rarns n -rro,

BENJAMIN WOLHAUPTER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE RAIL JOINT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

INSULATING RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 20, 1906. Serial No. 335,521.

Patented May 25, 1909.

York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Insulating Rail-Joi11tsg andI do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact de-,

scription thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in rail joints of that class in whichthe joint embraces a base-plate which supports the ends of the rails, two joint bars'and a longitudinal stiffening or girder-plate, and more especially to means for electrically insulating the ends of the rails from each other in a joint of the kind stated.

The inventionjxconsists in the matters hereinafter described and pointed out in the appended claims.

As shown in the accompanying drawings:Figure 1 is a plan view of the rail joint embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same with parts broken away, to show the meeting ends of the rails. Fig. 3 is a transverse section, taken upon line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 shows my invention as applied to a form of joint having stiffening or girder-plates at both sides of the rails. Fig. 5 shows a form of rail-joint in which provision is made for tightening the rails downwardly against the insulating layer interposed between the same and the base-plate. Fig. 6 shows a modification of the construction shown in Fig. 5.

As shown in the drawings, A A indicate the meeting ends of the rails, B a horizontal base-plate on which said meeting ends of the rails rest, and C C two wooden joint bars which are fitted between the under faces of the rail heads and the top surfaces of the base-flanges of the rails.

E indicates a longitudinal, vertically arranged, stifiening or girder-plate located in contact with the outer face of one of the ment at its lower margin with the adjacent side mar in of the base-plate B in such manner that 1t is laterally movable or adjustable with respect to the baselate but is held from vertical movement re ative to the baseplate throughout its length, so that it serves as a stiflening member for the base-plate. D D indicate track-bolts which are inserte'd through the rails, the joint bars and the girder-plate, for clamping said-parts together.- 1:

The base-plate is provided, on ita ilpper face at the. outer side of the rail seaflwith an inwardly facing, longitudinal shoulder 12 against which laterally bear the adjacent side margins of the-base-flanges of the rails.

' Said shoulder bis designed to take the lateral thrust on the rails due to pressure on the inner edges of the rail-heads of the wheel flanges, and the baselate is, therefore, arranged with the shoul er I) at the outer sides of the rails. The baselate is provided near its. inner margin wit spike holes I) 6 through which are inserted s ikes, shown at F, in Figs. 2 and 3, for ho ding the baseplate to the ties and to prevent any outward shifting or movement of the base-plateon the ties.

To provide for the interlocking connection.

of the outer margin of the base-plate with the girderlate E, a construction is rovided as fol ows: On saidouter margin 0 the baselate is formed a lon itudinal, outward y extending, horizonta flange B located above the level of the bottom surface of the base-plate. The lower part of the girderplate E is shaped to surround or embrace the flange 13, and for this purpose is extended outwardly over the top of said flange and has at its lower margin an inwardly extending flange c which projects beneath the flange B of the base-plate said flange c with the'part of the girder-plate above it forming a groove E having horizontal top and bottom surfaces and adapted to receive the said flange B on the base-plate, The said girder- )late is shown as having a bottom horizontal earing surface which is flush with the horizontal bottom surface of the plate and is thereby adapted to rest on the ties. The girder plate is shown as also provided at its lower margin with an outwardly extending, horizontal flange E which forms with the flange e a flat, horizontal bearing surface on the girder-plate, located in the same horizontal pl anewith the bottom surfaceof the base-plate l ind adapted for contact withthe ties. The outwardly extending flanges. E are referably provided with apertures e e t rough which spikes, one'of which is sli'ovfii' at F? in.

, late wil rest or bear against the said joint shown as'extending to the toplIof til upturned part is carried upwardly past'the base-flange of the rail far enough to=insulate' the same from the shoulder b and the adjathe rails from each other, a sheet or layer G 40 'flber, is placed between the base-flanges of ay'er G is extended to form a part G whichis 45 1 shoulder b of the base- 'lateand the adj aeentside face of the baseange of-the rail'and also between the girder-plateE and the joint 'barC sothat it will be held or clamped be- Fig. 3, may be driven-to hold the girderplate in contact with the ties. Thesejaper tures will be transversely elongated or will,- have the form of open notches, as shown, inf order to permit the girder-plate to be shifted toward t e base-plate intightening the joint, as hereinafter described. The inner vertical face of said girder-plate-E is arranged a proximately in line with the shoulder of t e ase-plate, while the adjacent joint bar-C is made of a width equal to. the distance from the web of the rail to the outer margin of the base-flange thereof, so that when. the base-- flan e is in bearing. against'the' shoulder b of the l aselate, the main part of the girderar 0 The groove E in the girder-plate is, moreover, made of greater depth horizontally than the width of the flange 13 ofthe base-plate which enters the saline, so as to provide capacity for thelateral shifting of the girder-plate relatively, to the baselate, as may'occur in tightening the joint, it eing understood that t e base plate B is permanently secured in position upon the ties, and that any outward movement of the rails from the normal position thereof is prevented by contact of the outer margins of the baseflanges thereof with the shoulder b. J J indicatemetal washer-plates or stra s,

" one for each rail end, which rest against t e outerface of the joint-bar O. Each of said stra s is ajp'ertured at its ends to'receive thetwlp olts D which pass through one of the rasl.-

' Toprovide means, in a joint madeas de scribed, for electrically insulating the endsof of insulating material, such as vulcanized Lthe rails'and'the top-surface of the base-- late. The side 'margin of said sheet or bent upwardly so as to extend'between the?- tween' said arts and the entire sheetwillbe thereby held in place and prevented'frombe-. coming shifted endwise from its place, Said marginal part: G of the insulatin layer is e girderlate E, but this is'jnot essential, as the-insue ating layer will. perform its function if its cent shoul Insulating. thimbles H H surround the bolts D between the same and the girderplate, the holes in which latter are made argc enough to receive said thimbles, and

parts "of" the girder-plate above said er fgirklei plate andthe ends of the bolts which insulating washers I I are located between the heads of the ,ofltlie rails is located an insulating plate or, layer K. The joint bars C C .wood o'r ofnon-conducting material, the ends 6f the rails are, by the employment of the 'ulatin layers between the rails, the-base plateau the girder-plate and between the engage the same, electrically insulated from e ch other. p I

1 the form of joint embodying my invent1o'n shown in Fig. 4 the construction is gen- .fdescribed, with the exception that two girder- [plates are em loyed instead of one. ,1 In jthis instance, t e base-plate J has inwardly facing, longitudinal shoulders j j at opposite sides ofthe rail-seat thereof, and is provided ,with outwardly extending, -horizontal flanges J J at its side margins, The'two girderplates L and M are provided, near their lower margins, with horizontal grooves L M,

adapted to receive, the outwardly extending 90 flanges J J .,-of the'base-plate J. The wooden jointbars K K areinterposed between the webs of the rails, and the said girder plates L and M. Track-bolts, one of wh ch is shown at O, are inserted through both of the girder-plates, the jointbars and the rails. A layer N of insulating material is interposed between the base-flanges of the rails and the base-plate. :Said layerlN is made wider than the base-flanges of 'the rails and its side margins are bent up between the margins of the base flanges of the rails and the shoulders j j, which latterarelocated at such distance apart asto afford room for the marginal parts of the insulating layer. At one side of the base-plate, preferably that adjacent to the girder-plate M, the margin of .the insulating layer N is extended upwardly between the wooden joint bar and the girderlate, in such manner that it will be clamped lletween said parts .and the layer thereby held in lace. The'ends of the track-bolts O are insu ated 'from'the girder-plates L and M,

by means of insulating thi'mbles or sleeves 0 v ndwashers 0 in the same manner as before 115 described. I

- In Fig-'5 Ihave shown still another form of insulating joint 'embod ing my invention,

wherein, rovision is ma e for tightening the ends oft e rails against the insulating layer 120 beneath them, in case said insulating layer becomes toa'; greater or less; degree compressed under the heavy loads Commgthereon in the use of the joint; .In this instance,

the joint embraces a base-plate P like that 125.

shown in Fig. 4, wooden joint bars Q: Q

havin downwardly and outwardly-inclined, I outer aces, and metal girder-plates R and-S, which, in their general construction are like I the girder-plates L and M of ,4, and are 130 bolts, and the outer face of L we girder plate. Between the abutting ends being made of erally like that shown in the figures above pressed or reduced in thickness.

similarly interlocked with the side margins of the base-plate, but the upper parts of which have dovi nwardly and outwardly inclined inner faces for contact with the correspondingly inclined, oblique outer faces of the joint bars Q and Q In this instance,

the wooden joint bars Q Q are shown as hav ing their upper surfaces below and free from contact with the under surfaces of the railheads. In said Fig. 5, U indicates a layer of insulating material interposed between the base-flanges of the rails and the base-plate I, and the side margins of which are extended upwardly between the side edges of the baseflanges of the rails and-the inwardly facing shoulders on the base-plate. The trackbolts, one of which is indicated by T, in this instance. extend through the girdenplates R and S, the joint bars Q Q and the holes in the rails in the same manner as before described, the said track-bolts being insulated from the said. girder-plates by insulating thimbles t t and washers t 15 Then in this form of the joint the track bolts are tightened, the girderlates are not only drawn against the joint ars and the latter against the rails, but, by reason of the oblique contact surfaces between the girder-plates and the joint bars, the latter areforced downwardly toward the base-plate, with the effect of forcing or clamping the base-flanges of the rails rigidly in contact with the insulating layer U. made of vulcanite or other material which is, to some extent, compressible, and which, under the heavy loads coming upon the ends of the rails above the joints, will, in time, become to some extent permanently com- Said com- 'pression of the insulating layer will neces' sarily result in some looseness in the joint and the purpose of the construction described is to enable the rail ends' to be brought to a firm bearing against the insulating layer by the tightening of the trackbolts.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a construction I somewhat different from that shown in Fig.

5, and adapted to similarly provide for taking up looseness in the joint, due to compression of the insulating layer between the ends of the rails and the base-plate. In this instance, the joint embraces a base-plate V like that shown in Figs. 4 and 5, two joint bars IV \V which are in contact both with the base-flanges of the rails and with the heads .of the same, and with two stiffening girders X and Y which are interlocked with the side margins of the base-plate V, in the same manner as hereinbefore set forth, and track-bolts inserted through the girderplates, j int-l ars and rails, one of which is shown at Z, and which are insulated from the girder-plates by insulating sleeves 2 2 and washers .2 2 in this instance, the girder- Said insulating layer U is usuallymaterial interposed x if having inclined or beveled lower faces adapted for contact with downwardly and outwardly inclined faces/w w forming. the bottom walls of two longitudinal grooves,

formed in the outer faces of the jolnt bars W W. and into which said flanges project. In this construction the drawing inwardly of the two stiffening girders X and Y by the tightening of the track-bolts, has the efiect of forcing the joint-bars downwardly against the base-fianges'of the rails, in the same manner as before described inconnection with Fig. 5, while the presence of the inwardly extending flanges r x y g on the girder-plates, has the effect of greatly increasing the strength or rigidity thereof. a

I claim as my invention 1. An insulating rail joint comprising a baselate rovided with a rail-abutting shoul er, a ongitudinal girder-plate having interlocking and laterally movable connection. at-its lower margin with the adjacent side mar in of the base-plate, the contact surface 0 the base-plate and irder plate being horizontal and affording orizontal, lateral movement of the girder plate relatively to the base-plate, a 'oint bar of insulatin etween the rails an the said girder dplate, an insulating sheet or layer interpose between the base-plate and its shoulders and the rails, and track bolts inserted through the said girder-plate, the joint bar and the rails.

2. An insulating rail joint comprising a base-plate provided with two'rail-abutting shoulders, two longitudinal girder lateshaving interlockin connection at t eir lower mar ins with t e adjacent side margins of the ass-plate, the contact surfaces of the base-plate and girder plates being horizontal and affording horizontal, lateral movement of the girder plates relatively to the baseplate, joint bars of insulating material interposed between said rails and said girder plates, an insulating sheet or layer interposed between the base-plate and its shoulders and the ends of the rails, and track bolts inserted through the said girder plates, joint bars and the rails.

3. An insulating rail joint comprising a base-plate provided with two railabutting shoulders, two longitudinal girder lates hav ing interlocking connection at t ieir lower margins with the adjacent side margins of the base-plate, the contact surfaces of the base-plate and girder plates being horizontal and affording horizontal, lateral movement loint bars sfifd the ra ofv the girder-plates relatively to thebaseplate," 'oint bars; of insulating material inter-' posed etween the said rails -andsaid girder plates, an.;.inulating sheet orlayer. 1111361? 5 gosed between the base-plate. and'itsshoul ers and the ends of the rails, and trackkbolts inserted throu h said girder plates, ii; the oontact surfaces etween the said girder plates and the joint bars being downwardly and outwardly i clined.

4. An insulating rail joint comprising a baselate, provided at its side margins with rail-a utting shoulders and with horizontal,

outwardly extending flanges, located above the level of the bottom surface of said baseplate, two longitudinal girder lplates provided at their lower margins wit longitudinal grooves adapted to receive the said outwardly extending flanges on the base-plate,

-plates' being BENJAMIN WOLHAUPTER.

Witnesses:

JAMES E. DAUGHERTr, O. CLARENCE PooLE. 

